The Cost of Skipping Certification: Risk vs. Investment

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Cyberattacks disrupt operations and affect a company's reputation in the long run. That's why it's essential to keep the data secure and prevent unauthorized access. But how?

This is where cybersecurity certifications help.

Cybersecurity certifications show your customers, partners, and investors that your systems adhere to the standards and best practices. It keeps your business aligned with industry regulations.

Many businesses skip certification, thinking it’s too expensive or time-consuming. However, skipping it can result in significant costs through data breaches.

In 2024, the average cost of a data breach hit $4.88 million, according to IBM’s annual report, the highest it’s ever been. Let’s find out the importance of certification, what happens if you skip it, and the common certifications focusing on different security aspects.

What is a Cybersecurity Compliance Certificate?

A cybersecurity compliance certificate shows that your company follows important security rules.

It shows you meet the standards set by authorities, laws, or regulatory bodies. These standards focus on protecting three key things about your information:

• Confidentiality that keeps data private

• Integrity to ensure data is accurate and unaltered

• Availability to ensure data is accessible when needed

This trio is called the CIA triad, and it is the foundation of good information security.

Common Data Most at Risk

Your company handles customer contact info, financial details, health records, contracts, and internal communications. If you're not protecting this data, it can easily fall into the wrong hands. In 2024 alone, 422.61 million data records were leaked, as per Statista.

Here are the common data types that are most at risk:

• Protected Health Information (PHI) includes patient names, medical records, prescriptions, or insurance details. Hospitals, clinics, and even their IT service providers handle PHI. This type of data must be protected under laws like HIPAA

• Financial Information is another high-risk category. It includes credit card numbers, CVVs, bank account details, and more. Companies must follow PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards) to keep it safe

• Personal Identifiable Information (PII) includes details such as your name, phone number, home address, or national ID. In 2024, 46 % of breaches involved personal data. Laws like the GDPR ensure that companies collect, store, and share this data safely

• There’s also other sensitive data, like email addresses, biometric data, and even your IP address.

The Cost of Skipping Cybersecurity Certification

60% of small businesses go out of business within six months of a cyberattack. Here is how skipping cybersecurity certification affects your business:

Increased risk of cyberattacks

Without a security framework in place, your defense is likely to be full of holes or out of date. Your business becomes an easy target for ransomware, phishing, and insider threats. The 2023 MOVEit data breach affected over 2,700 organizations and resulted in the leakage of millions of records due to basic security gaps being overlooked.

Loss of customer trust

Customers expect you to protect their data. If you can’t, many will simply walk away.

Cisco Consumer Privacy Survey, 2024 found that 84% of consumers were concerned about data privacy, and 51% have already switched companies because of data concerns.

Legal and regulatory penalties

If you’re not certified or not following the right practices, you could face massive penalties, lawsuits, audits, and blacklisting from certain markets. In 2023, Meta was fined $1.3 billion for violating EU data privacy rules.

Missed business opportunities

Many enterprise clients and government contracts require proof of cybersecurity compliance. You might lose contracts simply because another vendor has the right certification, and you don’t.

Skipping certification could limit your ability to:

• Partner with large corporations

• Expand into new regions

• Win tenders or B2B deals

Reputational damage

Your customers, investors, and employees need to trust that their data is secure. Without certification, you can’t give them that assurance.

Breaches, even small ones, are often made public, leading to reduced trust. The share prices of Marks & Spencer dropped by 15 % after the cyberattack in 2025.

And fixing your image after a breach? That costs far more than getting certified.

Benefits of Getting Certified

Getting a cybersecurity compliance certification helps you stay protected, trusted, and ready for future growth. Here are the benefits of getting certified:

Bigger opportunities

In some industries, compliance certification acts as a differentiator. It helps you qualify for better deals and expand into new markets.

Stronger security posture

Compliance certifications encourage you to adhere to the best security practices. You’ll have security measures like data encryption, access control, and response plans in place. This means your systems are better equipped to deal with cyberattacks.

Regulatory compliance

Certifications show that you have followed the best practices to maintain data security. That way, you avoid fines, lawsuits, or reputational damage. It also improves your brand image and makes you more credible to customers and investors.

Cuts risks and costs

By following a certification framework, you reduce the chances of getting hacked. You’ll also recover faster from any incident. And some insurers may even lower your cyber insurance premium.

Builds trust

When customers see your compliance certificate, they know you’ll keep their data secure. This builds trust and gives you an edge over competitors who aren’t certified.

Improves internal processes

Certification often requires better documentation and standard procedures. This leads to smoother operations and better team coordination.

Common Cybersecurity Certifications

Each compliance certification targets a specific area based on your data type, industry, and geography.

Here are the most common cybersecurity certifications:

Keep Your Data Protected with Heroic Tech

Cybersecurity certification is all about protecting your business and your customers. It gives you the tools you need to protect data.

Compliance certifications require you to adhere to the best practices to secure data, reducing the risks of data breaches and cyberattacks. This helps you build trust, avoid fines, and recover more quickly from breaches.

Continuous monitoring of security threats ensures that you find any malicious activity earlier, ensuring prompt action.

Don’t wait for a breach to take action. Start following the best practices with Heroic Tech now.

FAQs

How frequently should cybersecurity compliance assessments be performed?

The specific evaluation frequency depends on the type of industry and certification regulations. It is best to assess at least once a year. However, you should also implement real-time monitoring to continuously keep a check and detect gaps before they become a big threat.

What are the steps to get cybersecurity compliance certifications?

Here are the steps you should follow to get the certification:

1. Perform current cybersecurity conduct audit to identify gaps
2. Create a targeted plan to resolve those threats
3. Perform continuous monitoring and documentation of the threats
4. Get your security policies, controls, and procedures reviewed by third-party auditors or the respective certification body
5. If you meet all the security standards, a certification will be issued

What are the common malicious software and cyber threats for businesses?

Here's a list of the most common malicious cyber threats you should protect your business from:

• Malware
• Phishing
• DOS
• Password attacks
• Man-in-the-middle attacks
• Trojan horse
• Ransomware
• SQL injection
• Drive-by downloads

How to identify the right set of cybersecurity compliance certifications?

The ideal cybersecurity certification depends on your business, geography, and the data you handle. Hire a cybersecurity expert or use frameworks like the NIST Cybersecurity Framework to know the specific requirements.